Davidson will join Tide for tournament

After traveling 1,700 miles from Tuscaloosa to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the University of Alabama basketball team learned Thursday that it will be at full strength for at least part of the Paradise Jam.

Senior center Jermareo Davidson, who is still grieving the death of his girlfriend in a Sunday morning car accident in Atlanta, is scheduled to fly to St. Thomas and join the team Saturday.

The 10th-ranked Crimson Tide begins play in the Paradise Jam against Middle Tennessee State at noon today.

Davidson’s playing status for the Sunday and Monday games is questionable. Davidson was a passenger in the accident that killed 21-year-old Brandy Nicole Murphy.

Davidson stayed behind in Alabama to attend Murphy’s funeral, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. today at Spry Serenity Chapel in Florence. Burial will follow at Tri-Cities Memorial Gardens. Honorary pallbearers include her Delta Xi Phi Sorority sisters and the University of Alabama men and women athletes.

Davidson, a preseason candidate for the John R. Wooden Award as the nation’s top college basketball player, had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the 96-65 victory. Murphy, a UA junior, was a student trainer for the Crimson Tide’s athletic teams.

Alabama’s basketball team arrived in St. Thomas on Wednesday night after sharing a charter flight with Xavier and Toledo.

“Our prayers and thoughts are with Jermareo and his situation," Tide sophomore forward Richard Hendrix said.

“And we know that Yamene Coleman is going to step in and do a fine job for us. He’s going to do whatever it takes for us to get the win."